A Belated Understanding
by Acerbus Lacer
Summary: My first D/hr fic. Is pg now may get pg-13 to R in later chapters! Draco has a revelation and him and Hermione come to a certain understanding.
1. The Beginning or the End

Alright this is my first D/hr fic and I know it just jumps right in there but it will go back and kind of explain things in later chapters. I'll try and update daily. THX!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Confusion clouds my mind. I don't know how I got to be in this position. Standing here drenched from the rain, with you standing there in front of me. You stand there as wet as I, but something is different about you. Not your hair, it's still that light pale blonde, maybe you are a little taller, yes you are but that's not it, there is a look that sits in your eyes, a look of sorrow and of...pain? It is a look I have never seen on your face before, usually a look contempt and disgust sits there. Although you are still smirking like you always do it seems different as if you are not smirking at me but at yourself. I feel sorry for you. Yes, I know how crazy that sounds, me feeling sorry for you, you who has made my life a living hell for six long years. Yet to see someone so proud and strong stand there dripping wet looking so...so broken. I can only think what it was that caused this change in you. More than likely the recent death of your father, but who am I to know?  
Disturbed with these thoughts I turn to go and as I walk away I feel you grasp my wrist andI turn. You have moved you are much closer to me than before and as I stand there looking up into your eyes only inches from your body I get the sensation to wrap my arms around you and let you know things will be alright. I don't but instead turn my gaze to the floor. Your hand is still wrapped around my wrist as if you are afraid to let me go. I am so lost. Last year....no last week you wouldn't come within five feet of me...of a mudblood, yet now here we are standing only centimeters apart, dripping wet, in silence. Minutes pass, wait maybe only seconds and I feel your hand cup my chin and lift my face towards yours. I gaze into your silver eyes as I look into them I see the storm inside them, the pain, anger, confusion, the fear. You are afraid, I can feel it now, and deep inside me I want to see you smile, I want you to hate me once more, I want you to cry, to show anything other than the hurt. I must be out of my mind. This is not the way things are supposed to be turning out. You, you are supposed to despise me and I am supposed to fear you not the other way around. I am stil looking into your eyes and everything is so still. Nothing can be heard but the ragged breaths and the beating hearts.   
"Forgive me." Shattered. The silence breaks with those two words. I have no idea why you would be asking for my forgivness. Not that you have nothing to be forgiven, it's just that this is you and its me. I am under you. You have in a way trained me to think this. You are hurt by my silence, I think as you let my arm drop and turn to go. I know I have hurt you and I am upset by this. At any other time I would rejoice at your pain, but then people grow up, they change. People deserve a second chance, and as I watch your retreating back I decide it is time for yours, your second chance.   
I break into a run after you and as I stand in front of you once again you shoot me a puzzeled look and I only nod and extend my hand. You look at my hand contemplating something. Then back up to my face and down once more. Taking in a deep breath you gaze one last time towards my face and grasp my hand firmly. It is a beautiful moment when once enemies learn to forgive eachother, I think althoug when you released my hand nothing was said between us, and as we both went our seperate ways I knew we understood what the other had to say. We were both sorry for our past, and by the way he had apologized in a way I think he wanted to change it and start anew. Although it was just a few minutes and there were really no words between us I believe it was a beautiful reconciliation that I will not soon forget. My mind was a whirl of emotions and the most prominent thought in my mind as I neared our common room was that I Hermione Granger has fallen head over heals in love with none other than Draco Malfoy.   
  
  
  
  
  
thanks for reading chapter 1 please review below and until tomorrow. CYA! 


	2. An explanation pt1

Alright I know, i know you've all heard it a million times before, the good ol' head boy and girl bit, but I myself am rather fond of it. I will try to make as different from the rest as possible, and I apologize beforehand for this being so short but I had a direction I wanted this story to go in and now it's just no good, and I just felt I had to post something ya know. So againI apologize but enjoy!!!!!  
  
  
  
I suppose most of you are wondering if there is a story behind this madness. Well yes and no. I guess I should just start out at the beginning.   
I was out in mother's garden, sunbathing when I got my letter. I was to be head girl this year at Hogwarts, which was of course no surprise at all, and who was to be head boy, well none other than Draco Malfoy. He was smart you could tell and to say him being head boy came as a huge shock to me would be a lie. So I would have to be working with the scum of the Earth all year long, I could handle that, or at least that's what I thought.   
So about a week before I had everything set and ready as well as plan to keep draco out of my face. I'd offer him a truce. We only have to talk about business and when we do we keep it pleasant and polite yet around school keep it normal like it always has been.   
In the letter we had been instructed to arrive a two days early to get familiar with our duties and such. We would both be arriving by floo powder. On friday I was packed and ready to go with everything planned out in my mind, from thanking Dumbledore to taking care of Malfoy, I played it out multiple times in my head what I would say what he would say and in the end I was extremely content with the plan as well as overly pleased woth my own cleverness, little did I know by the time I got there all my planning and plotting wouldn't mean a thing.   
  
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The trip was pleasant enough, if you could call it a trip. When I had exited the fireplace it was into a small room lined in shelves and covered in books, the carpet was a deep shade of blue, there were two desks sitting back to back in the middle of the room, and a dark green couch to the left of them, as well as one to the right. Behind each couch were two door each labeled G, S, R, and H, and straight across from the fireplace was another doors leading out and standing next to the door was none other than Draco Malfoy.   
He looked as if he had not noticed me enter the room, and I took that few secinds time to look him over. He had changed that much was obvious, taller, he had a deep tan still left from the summer, his hair was longer and he no longer slicked it back to his head, it just fell loosely into his face. He had grown as boys normally do nothing to special there, but that was not what had caused me to take notice, I couldn't place what it was exactly but I would figure it out eventually, I always did.   
He still did not acknowledge my presence so I strode over to him. Putting most of my weight on my left foot with my hands on my hips I just stood there by him waiting for him to say something. Nothing. So I tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped a little and looked over at me, then back over to the wall. Nothing. Not even a 'don't touch me you filthy mudblood' there was definitely something wrong.   
"Hello Draco, have a good summer?" I asked trying to stay as polite as possible. He looked at me, his eyebrows narrowed, as if I were playing some sick joke on him and then at seeing my puzzlement looked back to the wall and just nodded his head. Right. So he wasn't gonna talk to me. Well I might as well take advantage of this situation and just jumped straight to the point.   
"Alright Malfoy, since you aren't going to talk to me at all I am going to stop with all the hi how are you's and jump straight to it. Well we haven't always got along in the past and..." at this he snorted, yet I just continued "so I was thinking since we have to work together this year i think we should umm...try to get along at least when we have to do work, you know what I mean?" he just nodded again. "Well so yea that is really it." He just nodded agai. I was kind of dissapointed that he agreed so easily, I had this terriffic 'you're a jerk and i am right' speech all planned out and perfected. Oh well maybe some other time.   
  
  
  
  
***THANKS****  
  
Nuada-----Thankyou so much for the great review and yes I know it is short but I am gonna try my hardest to make the next chapter really long.   
  
Quagmire----Thanks babe you are always there for me and I appreciate the review. I'll be checking up on your story!!! *HUGS* 


	3. Our new living space.

So my whole big plan didn't work out, least to say I was awfully disappointed. It did go smoothly though so I suppose I didn't totally blow it. Well anyway on with the story.  
  
McGonnagal entered shortly after our "conversation", Draco was still by the doors and I was over by my trunk. She congratulated both of us and after asking how are summers had been she explained the room to us. It was to be our study and somewhat of a lounge room. The other doors led to the different common rooms, and being head boy and girl we were allowed access to any of them, considering it was for a reasonable cause. There were also two ladders on either side of the fireplace. These each led to our rooms, which were, believe it or not, located in two towers. The towers she told us were also connected higher up by an open walkway.  
  
"The bridge is thin and has no rails, it is only to be used in an emergency." She said narrowing her eyes at the both of us who now sat next to each other on one of the small couches. "Do you understand?" I shook my head vigorously while Draco simply nodded. She then told us that this room is found down a hidden passage behind the portrait of The Angel of Death on the last foyer before the astronomy tower. It was a new edition to the castle only a few years old. Lastly before we were released to our rooms for the morning we had to pick a password for our room. I looked to Draco who was staring blankly at the floor; I nudged him with my elbow. He looked at me with annoyance and confusion.  
  
"Password?" I asked. He shrugged and mumbled something. "What?"  
  
"Casse Foi." He said. I knew it was French but not exactly what it meant. Seeing as I had no other ideas I was all for it.  
  
McGonnagal left shortly after directing which ladder led to whose room. After she left I cast a levitation spell on my trunk and climbed up into my room, it following directly behind me. It wasn't a very large room it had a bed like the one I used to have in the girls' dorm room. There was a dresser a full-length mirror, a small wardrobe, desk, and a small door. Going through the door I followed the stairs down to an enormous bathroom there were two toilets in each corner, with showers next to them, but in the middle was a huge, pool sized bath, similar to the one located in the prefects bathroom. I looked around and saw another door on the other end of the room, which I assumed, went to Draco's room. I turned to leave when the door opened and Draco slunk in gazing around.  
  
"Pretty neat, huh?" I said in a friendly tone. He looked at me for a moment as if to acknowledge my presence and then said. "Sure is" in a rather sarcastic uninterested tone. I gave him a frown and then waltzed back through my door and up to my room. I unpacked quickly and efficiently, like I do almost everything and then flopped down onto my burgundy comforter to take a quick nap. 


	4. Dinner Disturbances

We ate dinner that evening alone in the great hall. It was rather awkward sitting in the great hall not surrounded by the company of friends or the chatting of other students. As we ate you could hear the sounds of silverware scrape the plates and the chewing of food. It was not an all that uncomfortable of a situation just awkward, being just Draco and me, especially eating at the same table.  
  
tick….tick….tick  
  
The watch I got for my birthday is really loud; no, it's just really quiet in here. Dinner never really seemed this long before. Maybe I should talk to him, he looks so…. so unlike his usual self.  
  
"Draco?" He looks up slowly in a sort of dreamlike way, his eyes that gray, silver color, that just doesn't seem….I don't know….human. His eyes reach mine and hold them tightly, I swallow nervously forgetting what I was going to say. "uh….well I…Do you want to talk?"  
  
tick….tick….tick  
  
The seconds pass and he just looks lazily at me, somewhat perplexed. Then his lips twisted into one of his all too familiar smirks, and I knew I was in for it.  
  
"HA. That's a funny one Granger. I may be bored to the point of tears, but I still wouldn't dream of having a civil discussion with the likes of you, some dirty mudblood." my mouth dropped in anger, I stood up, palms face down on the table leaning towards him, staring him down. "What's the matter did I upset you, oh I'm sorry did I hurt the big bad head girl's feelings." I was at a loss of words. "Listen Granger. Just because we have to work together doesn't mean we're gonna be friends. I agreed to get along with you, to be civil , not all chummy." Sure I was mad and a little confused I didn't want to be his friend, I just wanted someone to talk to over dinner, he didn't have to get his panties in a ruffle, and oh I planned to tell him this.  
  
1 Tick….tick….tick  
  
"You know Malfoy, I was only thinking-"  
  
"Well don't then." He said wiping his mouth with a small white napkin, as he stood up, and then dropping the napkin to the table he turned sharply, almost regally, and left me there mouth open and furious. I watched his silhouetted figure as he passed through the doors into the dimly lit hallway, and then sat down to finish my meal.  
  
2 Tick…tick….tick  
  
  
  
Well as I see it this story is going no where fast, there is just so much which needs telling. I am too afraid to leave anything out. So as it goes we didn't get along much the next week. We had to do meet a few times to go over things for part of the first term. Such as the third years first trip to Hogsmeade. We were to guide those who were nervous through the town and show them the main sites. More importantly though we were to set up and decorate for the sorting ceremony and the dinner when the students returned tomorrow. I refused to mention dinner that night and no longer asked for conversation. We sat quietly in our "common room," it was the silence that would get to me, the tick, tick, tick of my watch, and the fact that he just sat and stared off, for hours. I had already jumped on into my studies but he it seemed didn't have anything better to do but gaze into a fire. Oh well whatever suits him. The first day and already we were at odds, but wasn't this what I expected.  
  
  
  
:::THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS ALL YOUS GUYS::::  
  
Classes are going better so I'll be updating MUCH more frequently! 


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